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DOCUMENT AND ENTITY INFORMATION Document - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2017	Nov. 02, 2017
Entity [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	WESCO INTERNATIONAL INC.
Entity Central Index Key	0000929008
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		47,002,338

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